The WAR convinces the MLB, but the payment goes another way

Of complex assimilation due to its high mathematical load and comparative interpretation, in the last fifteen years the wins over player replacement (WAR) statistic in Big leagues It has positioned itself as the reference to measure the real contribution of each player in a given time.

Carlos Correa appeals to them to show that he is the best shortstop in his aspiration for a contract superior to that of Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr., but until now the MLB he is reluctant to include it among the official statistics.

This will change from now on since in the negotiations carried out by owners and players, WAR is the statistic that will be used in the new instrument to improve the salary of the most outstanding players before reaching arbitration. The owners like the formula of fangraphs (fWAR), but to the players the Baseball Reference (bWAR). The one from Baseball Prospectus does not enter the equation, but a combination of the three references is not ruled out.

“Having that used to determine player compensation is kind of awkward,” Craig Goldstein, editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, told Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci. “We’re doing the best we can, but I think anyone who hosts a metric like that will tell you there’s a problem with them. There are generalizations; there are weak points. That’s part of the reason there are multiple versions of this stuff. They take different philosophical approaches.”

However, although it is used by team managers to evaluate players, the monetary value provided by platforms such as fangraphs to each WAR is far from what is paid in practice.

In the equation that FanGraps uses to determine a position player’s WAR number in the defensive setting it gives the wide receiver the highest score at +12.5 runs per 162 games and the designated hitter the lowest at -17.5.

He assigns a shortstop +7.5 and a first baseman -12.5. He gives the corners of the outfield -7.5, while the center sets it at +2.5. The second baseman and shortstop take +2.5.

However, in 2021 the payment was diametrically opposite to that table. It was the highest-paid designated hitter position of all with an average of $7 million according to Spotrac. Teams shelled out $1.5MM in DH, while catchers were the lowest paid at an average of $2.7MM.

The second highest paid went to right outfielders ($6.9 million), followed by first basemen ($6.4 million), third basemen ($6.3 million), left fielders ($6 million). Shortstops remain at US$2.9 MM and second basemen at US$4 MM.